SUPERSOLAR Ultra refractory ceramic absorbers for thermodynamic solar energy generation at high temperature Deliverable D 0.1 Mid project technical report - Advancement of the activity

The work described in the following constitutes the Deliverable 0.1, that is a technical report edited by ISTEC in correspondence of Milestone 1 after joint discussion with UNICA and INO and regards: -correlations between microstructural features and thermo-mechanical properties; -correlations between microstructural features and optical properties at room and high temperature; -selection of the most promising materials and compositions for further optimization. This present Deliverable D 0.1 takes in account what is reported in the following deliverables: WP2:D 2.1: Production of UHTC as powders or monoliths. WP3:D 3.2: Production of dense UHTC specimens containing sintering aids. WP4:D 4.1: Technical report on microstructure, thermo-mechanical properties and oxidation resistance. WP5:D 5.1: Technical report on optical properties. The project was initiated on March 21st 2013. The manuscript of this report was released by the authors in June 2015.